[外電] Foot injury sidelines Blazers' Outlaw till January

看板BLAZERS (波特蘭拓荒者)作者Aldridge (目標：明星賽我來啦)時間16年前 (2009/11/15 14:35)推噓9(9推 0噓 8→)

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Foot injury sidelines Blazers' Outlaw till January There was an ominous moment before Saturday's game when Brandon Roy asked Travis Outlaw whether he thought his aching left foot had a stress fracture. "He had been complaining about his foot for a couple of games now," Roy said of his best friend. "So I was like, 'Trav, you sure you don't have a stress fracture?'" Little did either know, but 20 seconds into Outlaw's night on Saturday, Roy's suspicion would bear true. In a development that delivered a long-term blow to the team's depth and playing style, Outlaw on Saturday broke a bone in his left foot while playing defense 20 seconds after entering the Blazers' 80-74 win Charlotte. The team's top reserve and primary backup power forward is expected to be out for six to eight weeks, which translates to mid-January. If he returns in exactly eight weeks, he will miss 29 games. The injury figures to change the Blazers' playing style -- Outlaw was a key element to a small lineup that tried to push the pace and spread out defenses -- and reduce the team's scoring pop. Outlaw averaged 10.9 points and 3.8 rebounds and was a trusted late-game performer. The injury is expected to thrust 16-year veteran Juwan Howard into a more prominent role. When asked how he was going to handle Outlaw's extended absence, coach Nate McMillan chuckled, "I don't know," before his voice cracked a bit with emotion. "I just feel so bad for (Outlaw)," coach Nate McMillan said, emphasizing the word "bad." "He was doing some good things, and all of the sudden this happens. We don't know how long he is going to be out, but it's going to be a while. It's just an unfortunate situation." Outlaw said his foot had been bothering him since the team's Tuesday game in Memphis. He played in pain the next two games -- at Minnesota and New Orleans. Then Saturday, he felt his foot "pop" while defending Gerald Wallace. He continued to play, and on the next possession, he made an errant pass to Roy, which landed in the stands. At that point, he knew something was wrong and started walking with a pronounced limp. X-rays confirmed a stress fracture in the fifth metatarsal, the small bone on the top of the foot near the pinky toe. It is the same injury, on the same foot, suffered last season by Martell Webster. He came back in eight weeks, and in his first game suffered the same injury in the same place. He missed the rest of the season. When Outlaw was told the news, he said he was emotional. "I was cursing and everything," Outlaw said while wearing a protective boot and standing on crutches after the game. "I was down, I'm not going to lie. I love playing the game, and just the fact that I'm going to be out, it hurts." Outlaw was in better spirits in the postgame locker room, sharing laughs and telling stories with teammates. However, any time his teammates looked at him, they shook their head and cursed Outlaw's luck. The biggest impact will be felt by Roy. The two are inseparable, particularly on the road. "For me, that's my best friend on the team," Roy said. "I spend a lot of time on the road talking to him about the team, about the games. So it's going to be different for me. We not only have to fill that void on the court, I will have to fill that void for me off the court. It gets lonely on the road." The most logical replacement will be Howard, the 6-foot-9 veteran who spent much of Saturday's pregame running on a treadmill to stay in shape. He played 12 minutes on Saturday, finishing with three points on 1 for 3 shooting. Howard said it is important to continue training during the season even if a player isn't seeing action. "You never know when your name is going to be called, or when a team is going to need you to step in and help," he said. "We lose a very important guy on the team who has done a lot for this team over the years with his play and professionalism. Now, myself and others have to step up. We gotta fill those shoes." Outlaw's injury might also thrust rookie Dante Cunningham into action. Although the second-round pick still is raw, the team's coaching staff raves about his potential. "We will find a way," McMillan said in filling the void. "We have to." http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2009/11/foot_injury_sidelines_outlaw_t.html -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 221.169.172.177

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